North Mississippi native Jay Stokes remembers the thrill of killing his first deer when he was 10 years old.
Now, Stokes is spending a large part of his adult life making sure hundreds of young people all over the Golden Triangle and beyond can feel that same thrill.

Key staff positions continue to fall into place at Mississippi University for Women, with the college naming its new provost and vice president for academic affairs earlier this week.
Dr. Dan Heimmermann, who hails from the University of Texas at Brownsville, will join MUW's leadership team Aug. 1.

A public hearing will be held Aug. 6 on a Mississippi Development Authority Small Cities Community Development Block Grant for which the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors is considering applying.
The grant is for up to $2 million for site improvements at the Mississippi Steel Processing location on the Severstal campus.

It has been predicted to be the biggest blockbuster of the year and movie-goers Friday morning in Columbus helped confirm that belief. "The Dark Knight Rises," the third and final chapter in director Christopher Nolan's epic Batman saga, opened at midnight at theaters around the country, an opening obscured by the tragic shootings in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 dead and 50 injured.

A gunman in a gas mask barged into a crowded Denver-area theater during a midnight premiere of the Batman movie on Friday, hurled a gas canister and then opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring at least 50 others in one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.

A comprehensive plan, designed to set the standards for development and zoning in Columbus, will be making its way before the city council before summer's end. City Planner Christina Berry, whose office spear-headed the project, said the city planning commission has approved the plan. A public hearing on the plan, yet to be scheduled, is the next step in the process.

The steering committee formed to explore creating a tri-county industrial development partnership will hold its first meeting on July 24, it was announced, but the site of the meeting was not disclosed.

The Columbus City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a request from Public Works Director Mike Pratt for approval to hire six new employees, who will be used for general labor and grass-cutting. Pratt said the additional employees will boost his roster to 73 employees, with an additional five to be hired later.

For the fifth consecutive year, Mississippi State University has set a fundraising record. This year, MSU received $86 million in donations. That's $6 million more than last year and a whopping $35 million more than it raised in 2007.